The Detectives' Classroom From 10 Years Ago
by Swagnarok
Summary: At long last, Conan remembers his first meeting with Elena, Masumi, and Haibara a long time ago, back in a simpler time, before he knew the terror of the Men in Black. Arguably an alternate version of "A Chance Meeting at the Beach", Episodes 959-960.
1. Chapter 1

(Where we last left off Detective Conan, the main cast took a vacation to the Bonin Islands, where the Kaito Kid conducted a successful jewel heist. Meanwhile, Conan finally begins to remember a fateful encounter with Masumi at that same place, the Bell Tree Resort, ten years ago...)

The elevator door closed. Masumi pushed the button for the sixth floor.

"...So, what's on the sixth floor?" Conan asked.

"A surprise," Masumi said.

Conan looked at her funnily.

"No, really, that's the answer that Elena-san..."

The door opened. Standing there was Subaru Okiya, AKA Shuichi Akai.

Startled, Masumi took a step back. "Big Brother...what the heck are you doing here?"

He smiled. "Shinichi Kudo, in case you haven't realized it by now, there's a sizable omission in your memories. Elena-san has decided that the time has come to make you whole again. Are you ready?"

Conan hesitated. He looked at Masumi and then back at Akai.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

He stepped out of the elevator and followed the FBI agent to the place where ultimate truth awaited.

 **Scene Transition**

Okiya slid his card key across the scanner on the door knob. And with that, it unlocked. He, Conan, and Masumi stepped inside.

"So let me get this straight," Masumi said. "You were *on the same ferry* that we took to get here, and you didn't say squat?!"

"I figured it was best to keep myself hidden in case he didn't remember," Okiya said. "Sorry about the mess, by the way. I didn't think to clean up before you two got here."

Then they saw it: that weird contraption hooked up to the wall. It consisted of three electrodes and a LCD display, as well as the bundle of thinly disguised computer components and circuitry.

"What's this?" Conan asked.

"Whoops, excuse me," Subaru said. "I forgot: you'll need a pillow."

He took one off the bed and put it down on the floor right next to the device. "Kudo-kun, please, lie down."

Conan sat down on the pillow.

"No no no," Subaru said. "Like I said, lie down. Rest your head on the pillow."

Conan did so. "Uh, how's this going to help me remember?"

"You'll see," Subaru said in a singsong voice.

"So are we gonna do Shiho after him?" Masumi asked.

"Nope," Subaru said. "Elena-san figures that can wait, until another time. Another era, one where the Miyano family no longer has to live in hiding."

"Man, how cruel," Masumi said. "That's like her whole childhood, right?"

Akai didn't answer. Instead, he began strapping the electrodes to Conan's head.

"This would work better if you were bald," Subaru said. "But I guess you don't want to have to try and explain to your comrades why all your hair's gone. I think it'll work well enough anyways."

"What will?" Conan asked. "Tell me what it is right now or I'm leaving."

Akai sighed. "We're going to send electroshocks to select regions of the brain which, coupled with the images on the screen, should cause you to fall into a trance-like state, where your brain will spend the next few hours de-constructing and recalling what happened ten years ago, without posing the risk of neurological trauma. In short, you'll fall asleep and dream about the past. You'll wake up early tomorrow morning remembering everything that we need you to. Will you consent to this process?"

Conan nodded. "Let's get this over with already."

The electrodes were in place. The screen was put above his face like one of those bright light thingies in a dentist's office.

"Recalibrating instruments," Okiya said. "Process will begin in 10, 9, 8, 7.."

"Good luck, Kudo," Masumi said. "I'll be waiting when you wake up."

"...2, 1, ZERO!"

He flipped the switch. Conan felt like a million volts of electricity were coursing through his body. It was excruciating, but only for a few seconds. The display above head came to life and unleashed a torrent of super-fast images played on repeat. Half a minute later, Conan was out like a light.

 **Opening**

(Cup of Trembling by B'z)

(Each fresh breath of life is a fresh chance to start anew! A great gathering of detective prodigies at the Bell Tree Resort! Young minds collaborate and compete to solve a difficult challenge! All the while, Elena and Atsushi's master plan takes root! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is...DETECTIVE CONAN!)

Above all, I'm afraid of you seeing me like this

The youthful vigor sapped from my bones

Too afraid to proceed, too afraid to turn back

A wretch, recoiling from my own shadow

Wallowing in self-pity like a pig wallowing in its crap

I can't check my phone, lest you might try to call

I can't live at home, lest you might try to visit

All I have left is the clothes on my back and

That dreaded bottle, whose contents I dare not drink

Oh I'm going nowhere, a pinwheel spinning in circles

This Cup of Trembling I now raise to my lips and swallow

So I may face the demons haunting my restless nights

I can't show my face to you until I can call myself a man

Until I've walked a full moon carrying my cross

 **The Detectives' Classroom From 10 Years Ago! Part One!**

 _The foghorn blared loudly in the Port of Yokohama._

 _"Hurry, hurry!"_

 _Shinichi, Ran, and Yukiko dashed wildly towards the docks. Or, at least, they would, if not for the luggage they were carrying._

 _"_ Anata _, hurry up!" Yukiko called out to the man falling behind._

 _Yusaku was heavy-laden with bags. He panted hard as he struggled to keep up. "I'll be there in a minute!"_

 _"We don't have a minute!" Yukiko protested._

 _"Whose idea was it to stop and check out the shops in Motomachi?" Yusaku retorted._

 _They reached the moored ferry just on time. Yukiko showed the three tickets to the bouncer; subsequently, she and the two children in her care climbed aboard. As the ferry began to depart, they waved goodbye to Yusaku and then went to find their cabin._

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Hmm, 215, let's see..." Yukiko muttered. "Ah! There!"_

 _They made their way to the little cabin, which had six beds, a stack of three on the left and a stack of three on the right. There was a small narrow space in between and a small window from which one could gaze out at the vast expanse of water which was the Pacific Ocean._

 _"Alright, you can set your bags down on the..."_

 _"Huuh?" Shinichi said, noticing the set of bags already on the floor. "There's somebody else in this...?"_

 _"I told you already, sharks can't hurt you in this big metal boat!"_

 _"You're just saying that, aren't you?!"_

 _A dark-skinned little boy, a little girl with a ponytail, and a woman in her early 30s who vaguely resembled Jessie (_ from Pokemon) _stepped into the cabin._

 _"Huh?" the woman said. "I guess we've got ourselves some roommates. Hi, I'm Shizuka Hattori."_

 _She extended her hand._

 _Yukiko shook it. "I'm Yukiko."_

 _"Ooh! You wouldn't happen to be that famous actress, would you?!" Shizuka exclaimed._

 _"Shh, not so loud!" Yukiko said. "But yeah, I'm Yukiko Kudo."_

 _Yukiko looked down at the boy and the girl. "Aww, they're adorable! Are they both yours?"_

 _"The boy is," Shizuka said. "The girl's a friend we brought along. And yours?"_

 _"The same," Yukiko said. "These two are the best of friends so we brought the girl with us."_

 _As the adults talked..._

 _"Ey, youze," the dark-skinned boy said to Shinichi. "Can sharks get us here?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"On dis boat, can sharks attack us?"_

 _"Don't be silly," Shinichi said._

 _The boy turned to the girl. "Just like I told'ya!"_

 _The girl didn't answer but rather looked kind of embarrassed._

 _Ran looked at the girl and smiled really big. "Hi, I'm Ran Mouri! What's your name?" She extended her hand._

 _The girl shook it. "I'm Kazuha Toyama."_

 _"Kazuha, huh? There's a girl in my class named Kazuha."_

 _"You mean that girl who died or something a few weeks ago?" Shinichi asked._

 _"She didn't die!" Ran retorted. "She's just really sick so she can't go to school anymore."_

 _She turned to the boy. "So what's your name?"_

 _"Me? I'm Heiji Hattori."_

 _Heiji looked at Shinichi. "What's yours?"_

 _Shinichi grinned. "I am Kaito!"_

 _Ran nudged him roughly with her elbow. "You're not either!"_

 _"Am too. I can do magic tricks just like a phantom thief. Watch!"_

 _"You mean that thing you've been practicing since school let out?" Ran said._

 _"Shh!" Shinichi said. "Don't ruin it, Ran! Alright, prepare to be amazed."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _Shinichi reached into his backpack and took out a medium sized square plastic bin/container. He then took out a tall milk carton made out of the standard cardboard-like material. He set both of these things on the floor._

 _He removed the tape that he had applied to keep the milk carton sealed tight._

 _"Shinichi!" Yukiko scolded. "Do not spill milk all over the floor!"_

 _"I won't," Shinichi promised._

 _"What're ya gonna do wif dose?" Heiji asked._

 _"Watch and be amazed," Shinichi said. "First thing you should know, this milk carton is full of water."_

 _He poured it all into the container._ _Then he took a sizable rock out of his pocket and set it down gently on the surface of the water._

 _"What the heck...?" Shizuka marveled._

 _"Eeehh?!" Kazuha said. "It's floatin'! It's really floatin'! Howdja do dat?"_

 _"Magic," Shinichi said._

 _After a few seconds he took the rock out of the water and held it in his hand._

 _"Dat ain't nuffin impressive," Heiji said. "It's saltwater, right? Ya just put in a bunch of saltwater so stuff would float in it, like in da Dead Sea or somethin'."_

 _"You calling me a liar?" Shinichi said._

 _"Lemme try," Heiji said. "I should be able to do it too."_

 _"No way!" Shinichi said. "You called me a liar, so I'm not letting you...!"_

 _"Stalling for time, I take it?"_

 _Another little boy had stepped into the cabin._

 _"Who are you?" Heiji asked._

 _"Pardon, I couldn't help overhearing you two," the boy said. "I think I know how he did it. Let me guess, you were gonna wait a minute or two and then let him try?"_

 _Dang it, Shinichi thought. How'd he know...?_

 _"It goes something like this," the boy said. "First of all, he filled the milk carton halfway with saltwater. Then, he filled it rest of the way up with freshwater. Just now, for this trick, he poured it all into the container; as the freshwater was at the top of the carton, it fell into the container first and as a result was at the bottom while the saltwater was at the top. So, of course, if you put something in the water right after pouring it, the object will have an easier time floating. However, since saltwater is heavier than freshwater, it will immediately begin to sink to the bottom, whereas the freshwater will rise to the top. After this happens, that heavy rock won't float anymore, but the whole process takes some time, which is why you're stalling."_

 _"Y-you're totally wrong!" Shinichi said, flustered. "Nothing about your deduction was right!"_

 _"In that case, why not try putting the rock back in and we'll see if it floats this time," the boy dared._

 _After a moment's hesitation, Shinichi angrily threw the rock to the ground._

 _"Hey! Didn't I teach you better than to be such a poor sport?!" Yukiko snapped._

 _"Color me impressed, Mr...?" Heiji began._

 _"Kaito Kuroba."_

 _"Whoa, so your actual name's Kaito?" Heiji asked._

 _"Yup. Of course, the Kanji in my name is different from That, but..."_

 _"Kaito! What are you doing bothering random strangers?"_

 _His mother, Chikage Kuroba, picked him up and then looked at the other people in the cabin. "I'm terribly sorry if my son's been a nuisance to you."_

 _"No, not at all!" Shizuka said._

 _"Yeah, he just showed up my know-it-all son," Yukiko said. "It was quite the spectacle."_

 _Shinichi just stood there with a very glum look on his face._

 _"Hey, later you guys should come over to my cabin and I'll show you something really neat," Kaito said. "Alright, bye!"_

 **Scene Transition**

 **Roughly 24-25 Hours Later**

 _At last, the ferry came to a stop along the docks of Tengai-jima. The several hundred passengers got off the boat and onto the shores of the tropical island paradise, which hosted one of the greatest hotels/resorts on Japanese soil._

 _After they all got settled in their rooms, the various kids and their guardians headed down to the lobby floor. The contest was scheduled to start at 5:00 PM._

 _They had all come to Tengai-jima to compete in the so-called Young Sherlock Scholarship Contest, for the chance to win a ¥1,000,000 per semester scholarship for any college of their choosing (plus, the Top 8 finalists would have their trip paid for)._

 _"Whoa," Shinichi said._

 _Several dozen children, most of them Shinichi's age, and their guardians crowded the lobby. They were waiting for the Convention Hall doors to open._

 _"Hey, mom, what time is it?" Shinichi asked._

 _Yukiko looked at her watch. "It's 4:35."_

 _"Eeeh?" Ran said. "So we've got to wait another twenty five minutes?"_

 _"Hmm, you're pretty good with math," Shizuka said. "Perhaps you should've signed up too?"_

 _Ran shook her head. "No thanks, all that detective stuff doesn't interest me one bit."_

 _"And what about that scholarship?" Shinichi asked. "That could come in handy when you're a grown-up."_

 _"W-well, it's not as though a girl like me could win anyways..."_

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _They turned to see a short-haired kid standing right next to them._

 _"Huh?" Ran said._

 _"What did you mean by 'a girl like me' couldn't compete?" the kid demanded. "There are plenty of girls in this contest, and one of them might be the winner."_

 _"And you are...?" Kazuha asked._

 _"My name is Masumi Sera."_

 _Sera...Masumi, Shinichi thought. "That's a weird name for a boy."_

 _"Huh? No, I'm not a...!"_

 _"Ah! Masumi-chan!"_

 _Masumi-chan? Heiji thought. What kind of a sissy is he?_

 _What appeared to be a little girl came running up to Masumi._

 _"Masumi-chan, I got your notes out of the car," the 'little girl' said. "I figured you might want to do some last-minute refreshing. Oh, and here's a little bit of ice cream."_

 _"Huh? Where'd you find that?" Masumi asked, taking the ice cream graciously._

 _"A nice lady outside is offering free samples."_

 _"Thanks a lot, Satoshi-kun...Eh? Where'd your sister go?"_

 **Scene Transition**

 _Shiho Miyano, a little girl with reddish brown hair and a sort of natural perm, stood in the big room filled with plastic tables and metal chairs, with a desk at the front._

 _"You said you wanted to see me?" Shiho asked._

 _Her mother, a woman in a lab coat with look red hair and big round glasses, held a phone in her hand. "Here you go, dear: your father's on the line."_

 _Dad? Shiho thought as she took the flip phone, curious as to what he wanted. "Hello? Dad?"_

 _On the other end she could barely make out some kind of noise. It was like sniffling, perhaps?_

 _Is dad...crying? she thought. "Dad, what's wrong?"_

 _Elena couldn't stand to watch or to listen. She went to the other side of the room._

 _Due to various circumstances, That Woman had informed them as of three hours ago that the scheduled date would have to be changed; the operation would begin shortly after they got back, meaning Atsushi wouldn't get to see his daughter face to face one last time._

 _Elena did of course have her suspicions about the change; was Vermouth really in cahoots with the enemy? Was she setting a trap for them?_ _Nonetheless, at this point they had no choice but to trust her._

 _Shiho tugged at her mother's shirt. "Dad wants to talk to you."_

 _Elena took the phone. "Alright, thanks. Leave through the back and return to where all the other boys and girls are waiting."_

 _After Shiho was gone..._

 _"That must've been hard," Elena said._

 _"And it isn't for you?"_

 _"You know that isn't what I meant. And anyhow, I've still got some time left with Shiho before I have to say goodbye."_

 _"But what about Akemi? You talked to her yet?"_

 _Elena shook her head. "I'll give her a call later."_

 _"When?"_

 _"Like I said, later."_

 _"Is there something different about her to you?" Atsushi asked._

 _"Of course," Elena said. "She's the only one who knows what's going to happen."_

 _"Shouldn't that make it easier? At least she understands, so there's some closure."_

 _"Maybe, but I can't help but think that she won't be able to keep from crying. Shiho won't cry at all, obviously. Well, if nothing else I left Shiho a present. I've entrusted Akemi with making sure that Shiho gets it."_

 _"And what is that?" Atsushi asked._

 _"A series of recordings from me, one for each birthday until she becomes nineteen."_

 _"But won't that incriminate us? I mean, to Those People it'll look like we knew of our untimely demise ahead of time."_

 _"Not if they don't find out."_

 _"Well, I guess just this once it's alright for you to be a little selfish," Atsushi said._

 _Elena looked at the clock on the wall. "Hmm, alright, I'm going to have to call back later."_

 _"Time for That Thing to start?"_

 _"Yeah. Soon I'll be witness to the birth of the Silver Bullet."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Huh? What's going on?"_

 _"Alright! It's starting!"_

 _"Boy, I was starting to think I'd be sitting here all day."_

 _The throngs of test-takers poured into the conference room._

 _"Good luck!" Ran called out as Shinichi made his way into the crowd._

 _Shinichi took his seat right next to Shiho._

 _"Open up, open up, what flower has opened up?" Shiho sang to herself softly. "A lotus flower opened up. Just when I thought..."_

 _"Yo," Shinichi said. "You know what we're about to do?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"I noticed you coming out of here earlier. Through the side door. You know any important test details? Anything at all that'll help?"_

 _"Um, well, first off is gonna be the writing part," Shiho said. "So that we can't cheat by looking at each other's papers, any two or three people sitting together will all be given different tests to complete. Any second my mom will start handing them out."_

 _"Your mom, huh? That's cool. What about pencils? I forgot to bring one."_

 _"It'll be fine. Everyone will be given a pencil, and there's more up front if yours breaks or otherwise stops working by accident."_

 _Elena repeatedly dinged a loud bell, which was enough to quiet everyone down and give her their undivided attention._

 _"Boys and girls, welcome to the Young Sherlock Scholarship Contest," Elena said. "For today, you will only be doing the written portion. It's a sixty-question test; the first fifty questions are multiple choice and worth one point each; the last ten questions are to be answered in writing and worth five points each. There is no penalty for unanswered questions, though you will receive no points for such. All answers must be filled in neatly or at least be readable to receive credit. You must score at least 70 points to pass this exam; those who fail to do so will not take part in the second part of this competition tomorrow morning. You have one hour and twenty minutes to complete the test; if you finish before then, quietly come up to my desk and hand in your work and then you may go. It goes without saying that if you are caught cheating in any way then you will be immediately disqualified and asked to leave. Likewise, if you talk during the test or engage in any sort of disruptive behavior in spite of repeated warnings then you will also be disqualified and asked to leave. Now I will be handing out your tests and pencils, and you will hand in to me any cell phones that you have on your person, and then we will begin. Any questions before we start?"_

 _Most of the test-takers were either too intimidated or too apathetic to raise a question, so the tests and pencils were quickly distributed._

 _Most of the students either immediately noticed the peculiar smell let off by their pencils or they noticed other students sniffing them and followed suit. After they had spent a moment of their time on this novel smell Elena dinged the bell again._

 _"BEGIN!"_

 **Scene Transition**

 **The Next Day**

 _"Hey, mom, you know where I can get a fork?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"A fork. It can be plastic or steel. Don't make a difference either way."_

 _"Um, I think the sponsors of the contest have a hospitality suite set up on the bottom floor somewhere."_

 _"Alright, thanks."_

 _"Wait, aren't you going to brush your hair? It looks like field mice have been playing in it all day."_

 _"Nah. By the way, where's Ran?"_

 _"She got up first thing this morning and headed out to collect sea shells down on the beach. I_ _n any case, be back in the testing center by 9:30. You can't afford to miss it, just in case."_

 _"Alright."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _Ran and Shinichi made it to the lobby, where the various children were gathered right outside of the Convention Hall._

 _Elena stood in front of the door, holding a piece of paper in her hand._

 _"...To those who failed to pass the first round of testing, I am terribly sorry that you came all the way up here for nothing. In any case, enjoy whatever time you've got on this gorgeous tropical island, and feel free to get a snack or a meal from our Hospitality Lounge, which will remain open until tonight at 8."_

 _Did we miss it? Shinichi thought._

 _"Now then, onto those who did pass," Elena said. "These eight individuals passed the written exam by scoring a minimum of 70 points..."_

 _Those who progressed to the second round were as following:_

 _Saguru Hakuba (Score: 93)_

 _Junya Tokitsu (Score: 91)_

 _Shinichi Kudo (Score: 87)_

 _Natsuki Koshimizu (Score: 85)_

 _Heiji Hattori (Score: 84)_

 _Kaito Kuroba (Score: 80)_

 _Shiho Miyano (Score: 79)_

 _Masumi Sera (Score: 73)_

 _Ran turned to Shinichi. "Congratulations!"_

 _"Shh!" he replied._

 _"To these eight people, be aware that in the end only one person will win the coveted prize," Elena continued. "Hence, this second and final round is designed to eliminate seven contestants, so that there may be a single victor. If the eight of you will please follow me inside the testing room..."_

 _Those eight people stepped forward and entered._

 **Scene Transition**

 _"What is this...?" Heiji muttered out loud._

 _There appeared to be a two-lane road, stretching from one end of the room to the other._

 _The most striking thing of all, of course, was the gigantic bus sitting there in the middle of the road._

 _There was an archway right in front of the bus._

 _"Boys and girls, this is it," Elena said. "The person who passes this test, if any of you, will be awarded the scholarship. Step inside the bus, if you will."_

 _They walk across the "road", went to the entrance door to the bus, and climbed the steps._

 _Inside the bus was a number of mannequins, in sitting position and dressed like real people. Five of the mannequins were male, two were female._

 _"These seven mannequins represent seven people," Elena explained, also stepping inside the bus. "They comprised a group of six students part of a college debate team in England, which, as a few of you are aware, is my home country. And of course there's the driver. They went on a road trip to participate in a debate tournament at another college somewhere else in the country. At one point they passed through a dark tunnel; when they emerged from the tunnel, they were shocked to find that one person among them had been murdered via blunt trauma to the head. Your job is to figure out who among these six people is the killer, and how the crime was committed. You may collaborate, but in the end I'll only be giving credit to one person for having solved the case. You may ask me questions relevant to the case, though I may or may not give you a straight answer. Alternately, if you have a mePod or some other kind of mobile device that can connect to the internet, feel free to use it, since in real life this resource would be available to any detective. You don't have to figure out the killer's motive. The reason for this is that I believe this to be unnecessary and also too great a burden for any detective; the human heart, after all, can be far from complex than even the most convoluted of criminal investigations. You may leave the bus and wander the testing room to your heart's content, but if you leave the testing room then that's as good as a forfeit, unless I give you special permission to do so, such as to go to the bathroom, after which you must come right back. Are there any questions? No? Good, you may begin."_

 _And may somebody here prove his or her self worthy of the title of Silver Bullet, Elena thought, stepping out of the bus._

 **Scene Transition**

 _They quickly noticed that each of the mannequins had a name tag posted to their shirt._

 _The bus driver's stated name was Rory Sedgwick, age 43. The victim's stated name was Seymour Dobson, age 20. The victim sat in the fourth row back, though because of the middle aisle it would appear on first glance that the victim's row was easily accessible to any of the suspects._

 _The other students were Alan Murphy (21), Daphne Potter (20), Lester Gilligan (19), Philip Barnes (24), and Katherine Pertwee (22)._

 _Everyone took a minute to examine the wound on the "corpse". Apparently Elena had simulated blood with ketchup._

 _"...Yup, it even smells like ketchup," Kaito said._

 _"Gross," Natsuki said. "What if that was actual blood? You'd just be fine with sniffing it?"_

 _"Well, if we aren't willing to get our hands a bit dirty then how can we even call ourselves detectives?" Saguru said._

 _"By the way, you look a little older than the rest of us," Heiji said._

 _"Y-yeah," Natsuki said. "I'm just young enough to qualify for the competition."_

 _"I think it's pretty obvious where we should start," Junya said. "Let's check everyone's belongings and look for a murder weapon."_

 _"Hold up," Natsuki said. "The inside of this bus is supposed to represent the crime scene immediately after the fact, right? What if, after murdering the victim, the culprit opened a window and threw the weapon out."_

 _"No, that's not possible," Shinichi said. "Look, there's no visible way to open it, see? It can only be done from the driver's seat and the front passenger seat."_

 _Just to make sure the scrappy kid wasn't lying to throw everyone else off, Junya carefully examined the window himself._

 _Saguru walked to the front. "I guess this would mean either the murderer still has the weapon among his or her things, or it was thrown out the window, in which case it was either the driver or, what's his name...Philip Barnes."_

 _"I think we can automatically exclude the driver," Kaito said. "There's no way he could just leave the car without any driver and expect it to keep going without hitting anything or slowing down."_

 _"Agreed," Natsuki said._

 _"Huh? Where's the dark kid?" Shiho asked._

 _Heiji came climbing back into the bus. "According to the test lady, in their witness statements none of these people claimed to have heard an open window. Furthermore, she says the police investigated the tunnel and found nothing out of the ordinary."_

 _"I figure nothing out of the ordinary would include gloves," Masumi said. "Wouldn't the killer wear gloves?"_

 _"Good point," Kaito said. "Any potential murder weapon in this vehicle might be checked for blood and fingerprints."_

 _"I guess this fact discounts the possibility of the killer stashing something in someone else's bag," Saguru said. "If something that had the killer's fingerprints was found in somebody else's belongings, that'd be super suspicious, especially if it had zero fingerprints belonging to the person whose bag it was found in."_

 _"Alright then, it's like I suggested earlier," Junya said. "The murder weapon's either on the killer's person or among his belongings. Let's get down to searching."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _As the blaze began to rise into the air, That Person walked away from the scene._

 _After a little while she could faintly make out the sound of police cars and fire trucks; fortunately for her, they would be on the lookout for a burly short-haired Japanese man in his late 20s, not a half-Caucasian long blonde haired woman in her 40s._

 _This marked five buildings in the span of ten days; neither the police nor the Organization would think anything of a sixth, even if it did happen to be the home of Atsushi and Elena Miyano, and their three children._

 _The phone rang._

 _She answered. "Yes?"_

 _"How're you coming along?"_

 _"Quite well," Vermouth said. "I've created a forest; one more tree won't seem out of place. If I do it right, then no questions will be asked."_

 _"You are going up against your uncle and father, though."_

 _"My father is a wicked man, and he made me just as bad as him. I don't give a flying *_ expletive _* what he thinks."_

 _"But after this job, I'm out," she continued. "I'll pass along information and little stuff like that, but nothing like this."_

 _"You scared?"_

 _She scoffed. "I think you know me better than that, Nobutaro. It just isn't in my best interests to take risks like this."_

 _"You're taking such a risk now, though."_

 _"Yeah, well, you don't exactly have an overabundance of expert fire setters," she said, thinking back painfully to a certain American girl a few years back who certainly must've died a terrible death. Or maybe she succumbed to smoke inhalation and didn't suffer much?_

 _"Very well, then. I just called to check up on your progress. We're all counting on you, Fusae."_

 _He hung up._

 **To Be Continued**

 **Ending**

(Spirit by Rina Aiuchi)

There are only two kinds of people in this complex world

Those who'll fight for what's precious and everyone else

Sometimes I lay awake at night wondering why this is

Is it perhaps that we believe all hope is already lost?

It takes a lot less effort to tap out and forfeit the prize

Hang our heads in shame and defeat, a prisoner of war

Too many voices have cried out "Awaken, thou that sleepest!"

What we need is soothing balm so these bones may stir again

Come, you and me, together let's put on a show for the ages

Hurry, the curtain rises, the epic drama begins to unfold!

Oh you graceful swan, dancing in the middle of the downpour

All the world's your stage, and every eye is fixed on you

You've got heart, and nobody can ever take that away from you

Give them what they came for, the indomitable human spirit!


	2. Chapter 2

_He emerged from the Hospitality Suite triumphantly, a plastic fork in hand._

 _A fat man in swim trunks was lying down on a beach chair._

 _"Excuse me, mister," Shinichi said. "Do you have some extra change I can use?"_

 _The man sighed, stood up, grabbed his wallet, took out a few coins, and gave them to Shinichi._

 _"Thanks!"_

 _The man sat back down again, just to notice that the boy was now asking somebody else, and that person in turn took out their wallet._

 _That kid's got a bright future as a panhandler, the man thought._

 **Scene Transition**

 _He balanced the 1-Yen coin on the end of the fork and gently set it down onto the surface of the water. Then he gently removed the fork._

 _"Sixteen," he said to himself out loud. "That's sixteen coins. I did it. I beat that know-it-all at his own game."_

 _During the ferry ride he, Ran, Heiji and Kazuha visited Kaito's cabin, where they were astounded to find a series of 1-Yen coins floating in the water. Shinichi was thoroughly humiliated yet again when he tried to expose the trick by dropping his own 1-Yen coin in there._

 _But now he knew the trick: the coins were light enough to float, provided that they didn't have any added weight. Getting the top of the coin wet was a recipe for disaster, which is why each coin, while still dry, had to be lowered down gently into the water. He noticed the fork in Kaito's hand back then, and after a little while he figured out why._

 _"Hey, you!"_

 _He turned to see a boy and a girl running right towards him._

 _He looked at them rather seriously and stood up. "Stop! Don't touch it!"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"I worked hard on this. I don't want you messing it up."_

 _"Mess...?" Sakuma began._ _Then he saw it._

 **Opening**

(Cup of Trembling by B'z)

(Each fresh breath of life is a fresh chance to start anew! A great gathering of detective prodigies at the Bell Tree Resort! Young minds collaborate and compete to solve a difficult challenge! All the while, Elena and Atsushi's master plan takes root! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is...DETECTIVE CONAN!)

Above all, I'm afraid of you seeing me like this

The youthful vigor sapped from my bones

Too afraid to proceed, too afraid to turn back

A wretch, recoiling from my own shadow

Wallowing in self-pity like a pig wallowing in its crap

I can't check my phone, lest you might try to call

I can't live at home, lest you might try to visit

All I have left is the clothes on my back and

That dreaded bottle, whose contents I dare not drink

Oh I'm going nowhere, a pinwheel spinning in circles

This Cup of Trembling I now raise to my lips and swallow

So I may face the demons haunting my restless nights

I can't show my face to you until I can call myself a man

Until I've walked a full moon carrying my cross

 **The Detectives' Classroom From 10 Years Ago! Part Two!**

 _Each of the seven simulated people had a bag either underneath their seat, on the floor next to their feet, or underneath the seat beside them._

 _Each "person" had "brought" a toothbrush, toothpaste, a stick of deodorant/anti-perspirant, shirts, pants, socks, shoes, underwear, a phone, some kind of electronic device with internet connectivity (which could've simply been the aforementioned phone in three cases), and a book (or several books) of some kind. These were the only items that all seven people had. Each "individual" had at least one item that everyone else didn't._

 _Four people brought notebooks, as well as pens and pencils (one person brought three erasers). Six out of seven people either were wearing or had brought some kind of belt, four out of three people brought their own body wash and shampoo. One guy (the driver, Rory Sedgwick) brought a large bar of soap. Two guys brought shaving razors, as well as shaving cream. One person brought a hair straightener._

 _One person brought a sports magazine, another person a newspaper (Shiho quickly took note of the fact that the edition was two months old, doubtlessly because her mother had imported it from her home country on the other side of the planet)._

 _"Ah! I've got it!"_

 _Heiji got out of the bus and ran up to Elena._

 _"I've figured it out!" Heiji said._

 _"You have?" Elena said. "Well then, pray do tell me. Just know that you only have one chance to get it right?"_

 _"One chance?" Shinichi and a few other people said, shocked._

 _"If you get this right, you win," Elena said. "If you get this wrong, you're out."_

 _"That's a stupid rule!" Heiji said._

 _"No, it isn't," Elena said. "In real life, a detective who keeps spewing out wrong deductions will lose credibility very quickly, and that may be enough to end his career. So you must take every investigation very seriously, as though your reputation as a detective is at stake. Are you sure you want to tell me your deduction now?"_

 _"...Yeah, I'm sure," Heiji said resolutely. "Follow me."_

 _They went back inside the bus._

 _Heiji pointed to the mannequin labeled Katherine Pertwee._

 _"Her belt missed three loops," Heiji said. "That would suggest she put it on in a hurry. This is what I think: when the bus entered the tunnel, Pertwee took her belt off and used it as a blunt instrument to kill Dobson. Then she hurriedly put it back on, but did it sloppily because it was dark."_

 _"I see," Elena said. "Can anybody think of any problems with this?"_

 _She got no response._

 _"...Should I just give him the win?"_

 _That was enough to get them to speak up._

 _"Wouldn't somebody hear a jingling noise coming from a belt?" Masumi said._

 _"Wouldn't there be traces of blood on the belt?" Kaito said._

 _"Yeah, and that blood would trickle down to her pants," Junya said. "Wouldn't the police find that super suspicious? I mean, why else would traces of blood be on her pants unless she-"_

 _"You're an idiot," Natsuki said to Junya. "But yeah, Kaito-kun makes a valid point. The belt would likely have visible traces of blood on it, and I think it'd certainly react to a luminol test."_

 _"Beyond that, could you even use a belt as a lethal weapon like that?" Saguru asked. "I mean, a belt's all floppy. The buckle can be moved up and down. All this together and I don't think it's all that dangerous a tool. The fact that it's a double-loop buckle makes it seem even less dangerous, in my opinion."_

 _"Y-you can swing it and give it velocity!" Heiji fired back. "If you wrap about half of it up your arm, it becomes shorter and more deadly."_

 _"Really? In the dark?" Shinichi said. "Where it might accidentally hit somebody else, or she could hurt herself with it, or it could hit the victim prematurely or in the wrong spot, or the victim could just grab it and render it useless as a weapon? Even if she managed a clean hit under the best of conditions, would even that be enough to kill a person? I mean, it'd hurt a lot, maybe even cause some injury, but..."_

 _"Well, do you have anything else to say?" Elena asked._

 _Heiji stammered for about two seconds and then was silent._

 _"I'm sorry, but you lose, Heiji-kun. It was a good try though. You may leave now, and be sure to grab some refreshments in the Hospitality Lounge. And come see me later for a special consolation prize, all of you who don't pass today. Shiho, may I speak with you privately for a second?"_

 _She and her daughter left the bus and headed for the far side of the room._

 _"Man," Kaito said. "This ain't gonna be no stinking picnic."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Shiho, you don't seem very engaged in this competition," Elena said._

 _"I told you, I don't like this," Shiho said. "It's boring."_

 _"Boring?"_

 _"And all that studying you make me do, it's boring too. What good is it for me to know what the chemical composition of bismuth subsalicylate is and other boring stuff like that?"_

 _"Shiho, the day will come when you thank me for this," Elena said. "As your mom, I say you have take part in this contest. No playing around. Got it?"_

 _Shiho nodded reluctantly and returned to the bus._

 _You need to know, Elena thought, so that Those Men will have reason to keep you and your sister alive, to continually provide the two of you with food and shelter. They'll need someone to reconstruct their research from scratch, and you're a brilliant budding chemist if I ever saw one._

 **Scene Transition**

 _After that, there seemed to be something of a lull, a stalemate. Nobody seemed sure how to proceed, and nobody wanted to take any big gambles after having seen Heiji crash and burn so spectacularly._

 _Masumi noticed one of the guys standing outside the bus, doing...something._

 _She got out to meet him. "Hey, what's up?"_

 _"About 2 and a half meters," Shinichi muttered_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"That's the width of this bus. I measured it."_

 _"Why would you want to know that?" she asked._

 _"And the road is..."_

 _He got down on his knees and began measuring it."_

 _"3.65 meters per lane," Elena said. "The standard measurement for British four-lane roads."_

 _"But there's only two lanes," Masumi said._

 _"In this scenario, we're assuming a four-lane tunnel," Elena said. "These two lanes are the only ones that I depicted, mainly because I'm too lazy."_

 _"So the bus would be allowed to drive in both the left and right lanes in the tunnel?" Shinichi asked._

 _"Yes," Elena said. "And in case you're wondering, yes, people in England normally drive on the left side of the road just like they do in Japan, in the event of a two-lane road. Likewise, as they do in Japan, English cars are designed to drift very slightly to the left, if at all."_

 _"Something's still bothering me," Shinichi said. "That arch, it's supposed to represent the exit to the tunnel, right? So why's it in front of the bus?"_

 _"Ah, that?" Elena said. "I'm glad you asked. The inside of the bus depicts the scene after they emerged from the tunnel; however, the outside of the bus represents it right before it entered the tunnel."_

 _"Huuh?" Masumi said. "It seems like you could've told us all that from the beginning."_

 _"Nobody asked," Elena said. "Until now. And to be specific, the exact width of the bus is 2.545 meters. Whatever your line of deductive reasoning is, I hope that helped."_

 _"That it did," Shinichi said. "Thank you."_

 _But it still isn't enough, he thought._

 _"There might be more information on the vehicle in the car," Elena said. "If you can find it, but I suspect you already know where to look."_

 _Shinichi immediately ran back into the bus, went up to the front, and opened the glove compartment._

 _"Here it is," he said with a grin, opening the book._

 _It was a notebook, but only the front page was filled out._

 _Masumi looked over his shoulder._

 _"Speed: 60 MPH," Shinichi read out loud. "Rate of drift, with straight alignment: 1 inch per 2 seconds to the left."_

 _He got out of the vehicle once again and went back to the road._

 _He got down on his knees, started with the front left car wheel and then started moving leftward._

 _"One meter," he said._

 _He went to the back left wheel and it also checked out to..._

 _"One meter."_

 _"I GOT IT!"_

 _They and Elena rushed back to the bus, where Natsuki held in her hand a newspaper._

 _"And what exactly are you planning on doing with that?" Junya asked. "Everyone knows you can't beat a guy to death with a newspaper."_

 _"Watch," Natsuki said. She carefully rolled up the thick newspaper and then she used her knee to fold it in half down the middle, to make an upside down U or V shape. She applied considerable force on both ends to scrunch it together. Then she held it the other way up and squeezed it tightly._

 _"Ah! I know what that is!" Saguru said. "It's like an improvised blunt weapon that sports hooligans in Europe sometimes smuggle into games with rival teams. It's called a Millwall Brick, right?"_

 _"Yeah," Natsuki said. "The killer used this to kill the victim. As this newspaper belonged to 'Potter', she must be the killer."_

 _"But didn't somebody else have a thick magazine?" Shiho asked. "Couldn't you pull off the same trick with that?"_

 _"Likewise, so that the police wouldn't know it was the murder weapon, you'd have to undo that, right?" Shinichi said. "You'd have to make it look like a normal newspaper again, and I don't think that's so easily done. At the very least it'd be super wrinkled and crumpled, and that looked crisp until you messed with it."_

 _"Ah, that's what she wanted you to think," Natsuki said. "In her bag you'll find a hair straightener; most likely she used it to neaten and straighten the newspaper after the crime."_

 _"Don't those require an electrical outlet?" Masumi asked._

 _"And wouldn't what basically amounted to ironing a thin piece of wood be enough to set it ablaze?" Kaito asked._

 _"And wouldn't there be blood on it?" Junya asked. "You never answered that either, I take it."_

 _Natsuki, realizing that she was beat, stepped out of the bus and headed for the exit._

 _"That makes six people left," Elena said. "I look forward to hearing what other deductions you may have for me."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _Shinichi got out of the bus again. So did Masumi. Then Shinichi turned around and faced her._

 _"Why're you following me?" he demanded._

 _"Huh? Does it bother you?"_

 _"No, not really, but...why?"_

 _Masumi sighed. "Look, I'm the weak link. Everybody here made a higher score than me on yesterday's test, and yet people are being disqualified left and right. I don't have a clue how to solve this. On the other hand, it looks like you're the one guy here who's onto something, so I'd like to watch you work."_

 _"Ah, so you're gonna let me solve it and then take all the credit for yourself," Shinichi accused._

 _Masumi shook her head. "No, that's not it."_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Like I said, I'm the weak link, so I don't deserve the prize; stealing your win would be just plain wrong. We're all just kids, but I think we should know better than that."_

 _"Then why?"_

 _"I figured maybe, if I could see you figure it out, I might figure it out too, and then I'll know I'm not dumb."_

 _"That's dumb logic," Shinichi said. "But suit yourself. Just don't get in my way."_

 _"You suspect the Driver, right?"_

 _"Huh? How'd you know that?"_

 _"You're looking into specifics about the bus," Masumi pointed out. "I think you're trying to figure out how long the Driver could leave the driver's seat without posing a risk of it crashing. And of course, the bus was set on cruise control, 60 miles an hour. Am I right?"_

 _"Y-yeah," Shinichi said. "But I don't have enough information yet. I need to know how long the tunnel is."_

 _"You want to know the length of the tunnel?"_

 _They turned to see Elena._

 _"It's one half of a mile straight, then a curve, then straight again for another half mile, then it ends."_

 _Then she re-entered the bus._

 _"Half a mile," Shinichi repeated. "At 60 miles an hour, that's..."_

 _He shook his head. "Dang it, this is too much math. Your name's Masumi, right?"_

 _She nodded._

 _"Masumi, are you good with numbers?"_

 _"Yeah, my mom and big brothers say I'm pretty sharp."_

 _"Do you know how to convert meters to inches?"_

 _"No, but I can look it up."_

 _"Alright. Are you okay with helping me win?"_

 _She hesitated and then nodded. "I'm okay with that. I mainly wanted to come here for the beach anyway."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _Shiho, Saguru and Kaito were checking the passengers' feet._

 _"You find anything?" Shinichi asked._

 _"You even know what they're looking for?" Junya asked._

 _"A bloody sock," Shinichi said. "I saw it in an old American movie, 'Empty Metal Jacket'. In the U.S. army it used to be common for soldiers to take turns beating an annoying comrade with a soap bar held within a sock in what was called a blanket party. Several of the suspects have items that could be put in a sock and used as a blunt weapon."_

 _"Nice exposition," Saguru said. "But you're wrong."_

 _"What?"_

 _"We checked all their socks," Shiho said. "We even checked the victim's socks, in case the culprit switched socks with the dead victim. No sign of blood."_

 _Feeling as though victory was slipping from grasp, Shinichi took off the victim's shoes. Sure enough, no blood on his socks._

 _He turned to go when..._

 _"Wait a minute," he muttered._

 _He took a good look at the victim's socks again._

Naru hodo _, he thought._

 _Masumi came rushing back into the bus. "It checks out, like you figured!"_

 _And thus it's all come together, Conan thought. "Elena-san!"_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"In sum, at that rate of drift the bus would not collide with anything before it hit the curve," Shinichi said. "That gave the Driver thirty seconds before he had to retake the wheel and make the sharp turn. After that, he straightened the wheels and returned to the victim's row to finish his truck. He switched socks with the victim."_

 _"Hold on," Kaito demanded. "We checked the victim's socks, and there was no..."_

 _"And what if he turned the socks on the victim's feet inside out?"_

 _They were all surprised by this suggestion, except for Elena._

 _Shiho checked the inside of the victim's socks. Sure enough..._

 _"Well," she said, "I guess that means you win."_

 _"So there's blood?" Junya pressed, feeling kind of mad that he didn't win._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Of course, the bar of soap belonged to the Driver," Shinichi said. "As for hard evidence that he did it, well, I guess some of his DNA and fingerprints would be found upon an analysis of the socks, assuming these were real people and not a bunch of statues."_

 _Elena clapped. "Congratulations. What's your name, kid?"_

 _"Shinichi Kudo."_

 _Shinichi...Kudo, Elena thought, taking a mental note. "Well, Shinichi Kudo, you've just solved the case and won the scholarship."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _He gazed out at the sea, the incoming flood, starting out strong but ultimately crashing weakly against the sandy shores. The endless expanse of water, going on and on for hundreds of miles in all directions. Inconceivably big. The water appeared green, but the sky overhead was a brilliant shade of blue, and also seemingly endless in scope. There were a few fluffy white clouds and that small bright white thing which was the sun. It was a shame that they'd be boarding the ferry back to mainland Japan tonight._

 _In the face of all this, he felt small, insignificant. Just a single little boy in a humongous world._ _This one little boy now had a companion, apparently._

 _"Your mom wanted me to tell you that we'll have lunch at twelve," Ran said. "Also, congratulations on winning."_

 _"Thanks," Shinichi said._

 _No, I can't take credit for this, he thought. My deduction was made possible by other people. Particularly that one person..._

 _"Hey."_

 _They turned to see Masumi Sera, now wearing a kiddie bathing suit. It looked a quite a bit more feminine than Shinichi expected. And then he realized:_

 _"Y-you're a girl?!" he exclaimed._

 _"Well yeah! Wasn't it obvious from the beginning?" Masumi said, looking somewhat offended._

 _Not really, he thought with a deadpan look. "Masumi, I forgot to tell you earlier: thanks."_

 _She smiled. "You're welcome."_

 _She blushed when suddenly he grabbed her hand and then put something in it._

 _She examined at it closely. It was..._

 _"A coin?"_

 _"I found it at the bottom of the pool yesterday," Shinichi said. "It looks quite old, and rare; since I can't share the prize with you, I can at least give you this."_

 _Masumi put it in her pocket. "As long as I have this, I'll remember this day. Though really, I don't think I'd forget; I had a lot of fun today."_

 _"Yeah, so did I," Shinichi said._

 _"Well, the day's not over yet," Ran said. "You're name's Masumi, right?"_

 _"Yeah. And you?"_

 _"I'm Ran."_

 _"Hmm, nice to meet you, Ran. Hey, do you guys want to play tag?"_

 _It sounded good to Shinichi and Ran, and so they spent the next hour playing on the beach._

 **Scene Transition**

*Vibration*

Subaru/Shuichi answered his phone.

"How goes it?"

"His vitals are okay," Subaru said. "There seem to be no complications as of yet, though he is tossing and turning in his sleep a lot."

Masumi signaled to her brother.

"Uh, Masumi wants to talk to you."

"Put her on the line."

Subaru handed the phone to Masumi.

"Yes?"

"When this is done, he'll remember me, correct?" Masumi asked.

"If nothing goes wrong, yes, or at least he should. But either way, why does that matter? Don't you two have plenty of new memories together?"

"I-I guess, but..."

"Ah, you hoped it would bring you two closer together if he understood how far back the two of you went."

"Yeah," Masumi admitted.

"I don't agree that a single encounter ten years ago changes much, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Well, I just called to see how it's going with our Silver Bullet. Tell your brother to immediately alert me when he wakes up."

"Will do, bye."

In her office many hundreds of miles away in Tokyo, Elena set down the phone on the desk.

It's been a full decade, she thought, since the day that Elena and Atsushi Miyano died to friends and family...

 **Scene Transition**

 _Heiji kicked a rock into the pool, still fuming over his humiliation._

 _Last he heard, that kid named Shinichi Kudo had won the prize. He came all the way from Osaka to this remote Pacific island for nothing._

 _You stole my prize, Shinichi Kudo, he thought. I won't rest until the day comes that I've bested you in a battle of wits. We'll meet again for sure, just you wait._

 _"Excuse me."_

 _Heiji turned to see a man, a young adult in his late teens or early 20s. He had medium-length hair for a guy, sunglasses, a black cap, and a manly chest but with no armpit or abdominal hair at all._

 _"Are you by any chance a participant in earlier's competition?" the man asked. "Heiji Hattori?"_

 _"Y-yeah...so what do you want?"_

 _The man looked around suspiciously. "I never you to think hard about the contest, and about the woman who administered the test."_

 _As Heiji did so, he didn't notice the man pulling out some kind of weird gun-shaped contraption._

 _He pointed it at Heiji's head and fired; immediately, three electrodes shot out and lodged themselves onto Heiji's head. He started convulsing wildly as an electroshock hit his brain._

 _After a few seconds, Heiji was thoroughly incapacitated, unconscious._

 _Somebody's coming, he realized._

 _He hid behind a tropical bush._

 _Kazuha saw Heiji on the ground. She shook him._

 _"Come on, this is no place to take a nap!" she said, still shaking him._

 _He came out of his concealment and walked up to her._

 _"Excuse me," he said. "Are you his friend, Kazuha Toyama?"_

 _"Uh, yeah?"_

 _"Do you know what he came here to do?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Why did he come here to this resort on this island?"_

 _"Uh, for a deduction contest for the chance to win a college scholarship," Kazuha said. "Why?"_

 _"Did you see the person who did the test?"_

 _"Um, it was some woman, I think. I don't really remember."_

 _"Do you remember anything about what she looked like?"_

 _Kazuha shook her head. "No."_

 _I guess we can leave you out of it then, he thought. "Okay, thank you. I hope your friend turns out okay."_

 _About a minute later, Heiji woke up, disoriented and not sure what was going on._

 _Shuichi headed back to the hotel lobby, where he met up with a woman, about eighteen or nineteen. She had blonde hair and big glasses._

 _"Shu, did you find him?"_

 _"Yeah. I'm going after his mother next. And you?"_

 _"I inserted the virus into the security camera feed, just as James instructed."_

 _"Alright, good. Let's meet back up here in two hours."_

 _"Okay."_

 _At that moment, the island was crawling with FBI agents, who had the objective of eliminating all evidence of Elena's visit to the Bell Tree Resort._

 **Scene Transition**

 _Elena pulled up into the driveway. It had been a long ferry ride back to Japan; Masumi had already been brought home, so now there was just the question of Shiho._

 _"Alright, this is where you get out," she said to her daughter._

 _Shiho opened the car door. "Alright. I'll see you in two days, right?"_

 _Elena hesitated. She wanted more than anything in that moment to just cancel the operation, find another way to proceed._

 _"Mom? What's wrong? You don't look right."_

 _"...It's nothing, dear. Yeah, I'll see you and your sister in two days. Have a wonderful time, sweetie...I love you."_

 _"I love you too, mom. Bye."_

 _"Bye, Shiho."_

 _Shiho got out, closed the car door behind her, and ran up to the front door of her aunt Katsuko's house. She rang the doorbell, not suspecting this would be the last time in a decade that she'd ever see her mother or younger brother again._

 _As soon as Shiho was gone, Elena began weeping._

 _Satoshi looked confused. "Hey mom, I think Shiho was right. You don't look so good. What's wrong? Why are you crying?"_

 _Instead of answering, Elena put the car in reverse and backed out onto the road, then headed home with her son._

 **Scene Transition**

 _That night, the planned operation was set into motion._

 _There were cameras watching the outside grounds of the Miyano Residence; however, the inside was not being watched by the Men in Black, and in the dead of night the outside cameras didn't catch the shadow of the helicopter hovering above the house._

 _The bodies of the suspects were dropped onto the roof; they were the bodies of a man and a woman, approximately the same age and physical build as Atsushi and Elena. They were agents of the Black Organization who, five months ago, had been abducted by the forces of Nobutaro, the Men in White. The Black Organization's top leadership had by this time labeled them Missing in Action, replaced them, and forgotten about them._

 _Elena and Atsushi came up to the roof, grabbed the bodies, clothed them accordingly, and dragged them into the queen-sized bed in the master bedroom._

 _Then they returned to the roof and the third body was lowered down carefully, out of respect; a decoy corpse for Satoshi had been found, or rather, donated by a very nice couple. Their young son died of leukemia recently and was buried in the Western style; after hearing that another set of parents needed it for the sake of their own still alive son, they let the Men in White dig up the body and use it for this scheme._

 _After the third body was dressed up and put in Satoshi's bed, all the research notes, files, and papers related to the biochemist research of Atsushi and Elena was gathered in the living room; they spent the next two hours photocopying everything written, in effect preserving their research on digital cameras. Finally, they took one last stroll around the house and the helicopter returned at approximately 3 AM. A rope was lowered and they climbed aboard, and they departed by air for a safe house in Shikoku._

 _Ten minutes later, Vermouth appeared on the scene disguised as the serial arsonist and set the Miyano Laboratory and Residence ablaze._

 _Later, the Men in Black would conduct their own investigation; they were able to lift fingerprints off of the bodies but they needed something else to compare them with._

 _When Atsushi had dropped Akemi off at her aunt's house, he handed him his phone, under the pretense that she should use it to call him or Elena if there was a problem. The Organization later stole this phone from Akemi; little did they know that, when Atsushi gave it to Akemi he had a layer of dried glue applied to his fingertips, and the phone had been thoroughly disinfected of his fingerprints ahead of time. One set of fingerprints did appear on the body: that of Atsushi's decoy, whose fingertips had been pressed onto the phone ahead of time._ _A decade later, Shuichi Akai would use a similar trick to fake his own death._

 _From that point on, Shiho and Akemi were effectively orphans; the idea that Elena and Atsushi faked their own deaths and that of their son but not that of their two daughters would've seemed extremely illogical to the Men in Black, lowering their suspicions. The Organization, quickly picking up on Shiho's immense potential, took it upon themselves to raise her and Akemi._

 _In hiding, while enjoying the full funding and resources of the White Organization, Elena and Atsushi were free to pursue their research while advancing Nobutaro's Master Plan to defeat the Black Organization once and for all._

 **Scene Transition**

Conan opened his eyes.

He sat up.

"Oh! You're awake!"

Conan looked at the digital clock on the lamp stand. If was 6:31 AM. The scene was shining outside.

"That took a bit longer than I expected," Subaru said, yawning.

"Did you two stay up all night?" Conan asked.

"Yeah," Masumi said. "What do you remember now? You recall our meeting?"

"Our meeting," Conan repeated. "Oh, right. You helped me win the contest and then you, me and Ran played on the beach. I remember that. Good times."

He stood up. "I guess I'd better head back to the room."

As soon as he left...

"He's being a bit nonchalant about this," Subaru said.

"I'll say."

I should be heading back too, she thought tiredly. We're gonna leave this place in about two hours, so...

 **Scene Transition**

"Where were you?!" Mitsuhiko said, the second Conan came in.

"Conan-kun, we were worried maybe something happened to you," Ayumi said.

"Yeah!" Genta said. "I thought maybe you were invited to a lavish banquet or something and you didn't tell us!"

"I'm fine," Conan reassured. "Thanks for your concern, though."

"You must be super tired at the very least," Nancy said. "You literally stayed up all night long."

Actually I was sleeping, Conan thought with a deadpan look.

Then he was serious. "I need to talk to Haibara."

"She got up really early to watch the sun rise on the beach one last time before we leave," Mitsuhiko said.

"Thanks," Conan said, running back out into the hallway, passing by Masumi.

 **Scene Transition**

He swung the door open and ran outside. Just as he was running past the pools, he saw...

He stopped in his tracks. He turned around and walked over to Kaori, who was leaning over the pool.

"...You want to know how I did it?" he asked, taking his glasses off.

She looked at him and then realized: with his glasses off and with his hair being all messed up, this boy looked just like him. This realization showed in her eyes. She could hardly breathe; her heart was racing.

"A true magician never reveals his secrets," Conan said. "But I'm not a magician; rather, I'm a detective. Sometimes these two things can seem very much alike, but at the end of the day, there is a principle difference: a magician seeks to deceive his audience, even if only to entertain. A detective's job is the exact opposite: to expose the truth to the light of day."

Kaori grasped him by the shoulders.

"How can it be you?" she asked. "HOW CAN IT BE YOU?! That was ten years ago, but you haven't aged a day!"

"Kaori," he said. "A true detective knows the time and place for letting the hidden truth stay hidden, when it would do more harm than good for people to know. You have to let go of me: you can't keep pining after someone you can't have. It isn't healthy. You're lying to yourself, and that lie is especially hurtful because, the truth is...the truth is that there's someone so much better for you, somebody who you grew up alongside, your constant companion from childhood, even if he can be a bit annoying sometimes."

There was a pause.

"You know who I'm talking about, right?" Conan asked.

"S-Sakuma-kun?" Kaori said.

"That nerdy guy with the big glasses, yeah," Conan said. "I remember briefly meeting him ten years ago too. He didn't seem to like me too much then, or now for that matter."

Kaori let go of him.

"Kaori, my heart belongs to somebody else, but...I do hope that one day we'll have the chance to meet again."

Kaori smiled. "I'd like that. And by the way, I think I've figured it out."

"Huh?"

She picked it up off the ground: a plastic fork. "You used this, right?"

"Y-yeah. When'd you get it?"

"Like two hours ago."

"Two hours ago? That means..."

"Yup, I didn't sleep a wink last night," Kaori said with a grin. "But I think I'll be okay now, thanks to what you just said. Do you really think me and Sakuma have a chance? I wonder if he..."

"Oh, the feeling's mutual," Conan said.

"How do you know?"

"It's written all over his face."

He looked towards the beach. "Now, if you'll please excuse me, there's someone else I need to talk to now."

 **Scene Transition**

Conan sat down next to Haibara, facing the sea.

"I hear you disappeared last night," she said.

"Yeah," Conan said. "It turns out that I have in fact been here before, at the Bell Tree Resort, a very long time ago. I had completely forgotten up until now, because your mother suppressed my memories."

"Huuh?"

"I don't think it's just me, though. Haibara, do you remember them? From when you were a child?"

"My parents?"

"Yeah."

"...No, I don't remember anything about them. I just know what Akemi and some other people told me."

"Why don't you remember?"

"Dunno," Haibara said. "I must've been really young when they disappeared."

"...Haibara, I was seven or eight years old when I met them. You're a little bit older than me, so..."

"Maybe you encountered them while they were in hiding?"

"No, I don't think that's the case."

"And why not?"

"Because you were there. Haibara."

"What?!"

"You were there the whole time. We both participated in that same test, administered by your mother. You even told me then that she was your mom. I don't think you forgot her because you were too young. I think you forgot because she made you forget."

Haibara was rendered speechless.

They both just sat there and watched the crashing waves, for another five minutes or so, without speaking. But then...

"Why would she do that? I-I grew up my whole life with no memories of my parents! Why would they purposefully do that to their daughter?!"

"Because they loved you."

"Huh?"

"Haibara, your parents understood: the more you love something or someone, the more it hurts to have to let go. A normal child feels exceptional attachment to their parents, especially before they reach adolescence and enter that rebellious stage where they question authority. As young as you were, I think it would've been exceptionally painful for you to hear, that they were dead...so they erased whatever memories you had of them to protect you from the pain of that kind of loss."

Haibara stood up. "What right had they to do that?!"

"Every right," Conan said. "Since you were so young, they had the right to make such decisions without your consent, in order to advance your best interests."

He turned back towards the direction of the hotel. "Well, feel free to sit here a little while longer and mull it over. Just know that we're leaving soon, and we'll need your help to load the van."

He started to go.

"Wait," Haibara said. "At least tell me why my mother had you remember some random trip to the beach, or why she made you forget in the first place."

"...It was because of what she told me, near the end of it, shortly before we boarded the ferry and headed back to Japan."

"Huh? What'd she tell you?"

 **Ending**

(Spirit by Rina Aiuchi)

There are only two kinds of people in this complex world

Those who'll fight for what's precious and everyone else

Sometimes I lay awake at night wondering why this is

Is it perhaps that we believe all hope is already lost?

It takes a lot less effort to tap out and forfeit the prize

Hang our heads in shame and defeat, a prisoner of war

Too many voices have cried out "Awaken, thou that sleepest!"

What we need is soothing balm so these bones may stir again

Come, you and me, together let's put on a show for the ages

Hurry, the curtain rises, the epic drama begins to unfold!

Oh you graceful swan, dancing in the middle of the downpour

All the world's your stage, and every eye is fixed on you

You've got heart, and nobody can ever take that away from you

Give them what they came for, the indomitable human spirit!

 **End of Episode**


End file.
